Oleg Roldugin, an investigative journalist for Novaya Gazeta detained last week amid a 13-hour raid on the independent newspaper’s Moscow newsroom, has been formally charged with “illegal access to computer information” as part of a group, the paper reported.
The same charge had been cited at the hearing on his pretrial detention, the paper noted. On Friday, April 10, Roldugin was remanded in custody until May 10. At that time, he was classified as a suspect. Novaya Gazeta said he is now being held at the temporary detention facility on Petrovka 38 in central Moscow.
Roldugin was detained on April 9 after a series of raids, first at his apartment and then at the Novaya Gazeta newsroom, the latter of which lasted 13 hours, ending around 1 a.m. local time. Russia’s Interior Ministry claimed the searches were part of an investigation into the collection of citizens’ personal data from “private storage resources” and the subsequent use of that information in publications that it described as “negative in nature.”
While being questioned as a witness, the journalist said he ran a Telegram channel with exclusive information that, in his words, “could not be used in journalistic work.” Officers seized his laptop, computer, hard drives, and press credentials. Security personnel also reviewed his Telegram correspondence, including chats with bots. The criminal case in which Roldugin became a defendant was opened on March 10 against a number of unidentified persons.
Roldugin is a veteran investigative reporter known for his work on alleged corruption involving senior Russian officials, including former president Dmitry Medvedev and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. He has also uncovered Putin’s secret underground bunkers in the Ural Mountains, as well as a mansion in Sochi belonging to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia after the Revolution of Dignity in 2014.
Before joining Novaya Gazeta, Roldugin worked at the weekly Sobesednik, which he co-founded. The newspaper was shut down after being designated a “foreign agent” in 2024.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on the Russian authorities to release Roldugin immediately and end what it described as the “targeted persecution” of Novaya Gazeta.
“The search of Novaya Gazeta’s office in Moscow and the detention of journalist Oleg Roldugin mark the latest escalation in years of pressure exerted by Russian authorities on the media outlet,” commented CPJ Chief Programs Officer Carlos Martínez de la Serna.
Novaya Gazeta halted its print edition shortly after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, citing sweeping censorship laws introduced as part of a broader crackdown on independent media. The newspaper has continued publishing articles and videos online.
The publication’s longtime editor-in-chief, Dmitry Muratov, was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for his defense of freedom of expression in Russia. In 2022, he auctioned off his Nobel medal for $103.5 million, saying all money from the sale would go to help refugees from the war in Ukraine.
